Friends and Colleagues,

The Alumni Association is excited to share that ThinkND has launched today. As Sharon Keane shared during UR Summit, ThinkND has been created in partnership with the academy and includes hundreds of lectures, podcasts, and articles featuring Notre Dame faculty. It will be updated regularly with new content from across the University’s colleges, schools, centers, and institutes. We look forward to also launching our new Big Questions program on ThinkND in November. I invite you to explore ThinkND and encourage you to share it with other members of the ND family who may be interested in continuing to learn through Notre Dame. Thanks very much for your support.

All the best,
Dolly

Emilia Ann Nekic, beloved baby girl of Steve and Staci Nekic, was born into the arms of angels Wednesday, September 11, 2019 at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka, Indiana. In addition to her parents, she is survived by her big brother, Dylan; her paternal grandparents, Frank and Debbi Nekic; her maternal grandparents Dan and Kristie Altman; and her maternal great grandmother, Darlene Mathers.

Funeral services will be held Friday, September 20th, 2019 at 10:30 am at Saint Pius X Catholic Church in Granger. Visitation will be held at the church at 10 am on the day of the service. A lunch at St Pius X will follow the funeral and a graveside service will be at 2 pm at Southlawn Cemetery in South Bend.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to The Susan Mast ALS Foundation or the NICU Helping Hands Organization.

Susan Mast ALS Foundation

susanmastalsfoundation.org

2500 Waldorf Court

Grand Rapids, MI 49549

NICU Helping Hands

nicuhelpinghands.org

3023 South University Drive, Suite 211

Fort Worth, TX 76109

I am delighted to announce that Jennifer Pratt will join our team as my Senior Administrative Assistant on Monday, September 23.

Jennifer has been at Notre Dame the past four years serving as the Program Coordinator in Academic Services for Student Athletes. She’s enjoyed getting to know the student-athletes and help them balance Notre Dame’s academic rigor with their athletic expectations.

Jennifer’s originally from Buffalo, NY and attended Canisius College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies with a Concentration in Public Relations. She and her husband Christopher have lived in many places throughout the years — Florida, Germany, Georgia, North Carolina, Louisiana, California, Utah and now Indiana as part of Christopher’s career in the Army. They’ve been in South Bend since the summer of 2015 when her husband was given the opportunity to command the Army ROTC program at Notre Dame.

They live in Granger with their three children – Riley (16 years old), Nathan (15 years old) and Ronan (12 years old).

Please join me in welcoming Jennifer to the Alumni Association.

All the best,
Dolly

The Fighting Irish (of Notre Dame y’all) in the Main Bookstore Friday!

As part of the development of a new internal communications strategy, from now on, please send any news announcements for the UR Blog to Grace Prosniewski to post.

I am delighted to announce that Katie Spohr will be joining our team as the Associate Director for Special Events on October 1. She will be planning and executing a portfolio of university programs.

Katie is currently the Assistant Director for Indiana University Auditorium in Bloomington, where she is responsible for performances, lectures, and receptions across four venues.

Katie earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama and a masters degree in Arts Administration from IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She is excited to be moving to South Bend where her husband is the Volunteer Assistant Coach for the Notre Dame Men’s Tennis program.

-Geni Holmes

Dear Colleagues,

This Friday, September 13, 2019, the Office of Gift Planning will host our Badin Guild New Mexico Reception from 4-6 pm in the Downes Club Landing in Corbett Family Hall.

G. Marcus Cole, Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law will be our special guest speaker at 5 pm.

Please see the list of registered attendees for detail on benefactors who will be attending this event.

-Laura Snell Walker

It is my pleasure to welcome Maureen Daday to the Gift Planning team as a Development Coordinator. Maureen’s first day will be September 9, and she will be supporting Chris DeTrempe and Jessica Brice.